The Marauders
by RainyPaperAngel
Summary: A threat roams the world outside of Hogwarts, where the lives of four 11-year-olds intertwine. James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black - all have a background of their own. Grab your broom, let the mysteries and wonders unfold, and follow the four marauders on their first year on Hogwarts. Enchanted pogo-sticks, a rivalry between lions and snakes, and a golden
1. Once Upon A Train

_Hi! This is my first time on , I'm still learning how this site works, so bear with me 3 Enjoy the story!_

James had been looking forward to this day for most of his life. Ever since his parents had told him the first stories of the grand school of Hogwarts, he'd been dying to go. Oh, the disappointment in his eyes had been equally grand every year he hadn't received his letter of acceptance – and thus, the day the brown-spotted owl had landed in his mother's kitchen had brought him nearly as much joy as his first broom.

The train had long left station 9¾, the food wagon had passed, its treasure eaten, and he could barely calm his excitement as he was chatting with the other passengers.

"My wand is made from mahogany," he said as he proudly presented the fine craftsmanship of Ollivander. "11", unicorn hair!"

The boy slouching in the seat in front of him, tall for his age and with eyes, grey as an autumn's day, scuffed with a crooked smile. "So?" He drew his wand from his pocket and held it proudly towards the others. "Laurel. With a phoenix feather core. It's 12" long, drawn to big personalities!"

James leaned forward to look at the intricate patterns on the wand. He shrugged. "Mine is better."

"As if," the other boy laughed. "How 'bout you?" He looked at the two other passengers – a curious girl looking all around her and a black-haired, grumpy-looking boy. "What're your wands like?"

"Mine is made from… uh…" The girl took a moment to remember. "Willow, I believe."

"You don't even know what your wand is made of?" James chuckled.

The girl's cheeks blushed. "Well excuse me," she pouted. "There's a lot to remember!"

"Oooo." The boy with the phoenix-wand smiled teasingly. "Muggle-born, huh?"

"Leave her alone," the boy sitting beside him said.

The boy slouched back and rolled his eyes. "I didn't say anything."

"You're making her uncomfortable," the black-haired boy complained.

"No, Sev, it's okay…" The girl looked at the others. "I'm Lily. Lily Evans. How are you?"

"James Potter," James said and reached out his hand. Evans hesitated before slowly shaking it. When she let go, he ruffled up his hair and leaned back, hands behind his head.

"Sirius Black," the boy in front of James said.

Suddenly, the black-haired boy straightened his back. "Black? You're from the black family?"

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Yeah…"

"I-I'm Severus. Severus Snape – I've heard so much about your family!" The admiration was glowing from Snape. "You're so lucky," he continued. "You're guaranteed a spot in Slytherin!" He sighed, leaning back in his seats, as he turned his eyes to Evans. "I hope I get into Slytherin."

Evans chuckled. "Yeah, you've mentioned it a few times before."

But James frowned. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave." He looked at Sirius, who uninterested, or perhaps uncomfortable, had begun unwrapping a piece of candy from his bag. "Wouldn't you?"

Sirius made a grimace. "My whole family have been in Slytherin."

"Blimey," said James as he leaned back. "And I thought you seemed all right!"

Sirius grinned as he threw a piece of candy to James. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

It was an easy answer – one James had been raised with. "Gryffindor," he said without hesitation. "Where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad!"

A peculiar sound shot towards him from Snape. Disapproving, almost condescending.

"Got a problem with that?"

"Severus…" Evans tried to shut her friend up, but the cure for stubbornness had yet to be invented.

"No," said Snape, his voice clearly disagreeing. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy."

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius.

James roared with laughter and dropped his newly received candy.

Snape's head came closer and closer to the colour of Evans' hair, and the girl stood up. Looking rather flustered, she glared from James to Sirius. "Come on, Severus. Let's find another compartment."

"Ooooo…" Both of the still seated boys poorly parodied Evan's voice as she made her way past them. James tried to trip Severus as he passed, and he nearly succeeded, receiving a foul look in return.

"Killjoys," Sirius scuffed when the two had left. He turned his attention to James. "What kind of maniac would _want_ to go to Slytherin?"

"Maybe his family supports you-know-who?"

"Creep…"

James looked out the door of the compartment. "Were they both first years?"

"She was probably a teacher's pet." The young Black stretched. "You got any games, James?"

"I think I got wizard's chess travel edition somewhere." He began digging through his backpack, but before he found the game, the door opened, and two boys, seemingly first years as James and Sirius, peeked in.

"Can we sit here?" one of them, a rather tall boy, asked. He was skinny despite his height. His hair was on the border from brown to blond, and despite his fair skin, faint scars were visible where his clothes didn't cover.

"Sure!" Sirius looked at the two curiously as they found their seat.

"I'm Remus," the tall one said, reaching out a hand towards Sirius.

"Sirius. This is James."

Remus shook both Sirius' and James' hand. "Are you brothers?" he asked before taking a seat.

James and Sirius looked at each other, just now realising how similar they appeared in their uniforms and they burst out laughing.

"We just met," James explained. He looked at Remus' friend, a short, half-fat kid with a mousy snout. There was no way those two were brothers. "Who's your friend?" His answer was primarily driven by the politeness Euphemia Potter wouldn't tolerate him to leave out, as he didn't really care for the answer.

"This is Peter." Remus smiled at his friend. "We just met too."

"Nice to meet you." Peter's voice was barely hearable, and his squeaky voice didn't help it.

"Did you find the game?" Sirius asked, much more interested in the contents of James' backpack than their new travel companions.

James kept digging, but frown and shrugged. "I must've forgotten it at home…"

"I think I got Ludo." Remus looked at the two with a careful smile. "That is, ehm… If you'd like to play?"

Soon after, the four of them were staring at the colourful board on the seat between Remus and Sirius. Remus took the dice and handed it to Sirius, who curiously looked at it before throwing it. Six eyes looked up at him, but he kept staring at the board.

"Why won't they move?" James asked.

Remus looked at them, his green eyes filled with confusion, which soon turned to laughter. "You have to move them yourself," he chuckled. "Have none of you ever played Ludo before?"

The three looked at each other before shaking heads.

"Not this kind…" said James. "Is it a muggle version?"

Remus nodded. "My mum's a muggle, she doesn't like it when the game moves itself." Remus patiently explained them the rules of the game, encouraging Peter and James to come closer to be able to better see the board, and it didn't take long before they were on their third game.

The door opened, spooking Peter, who shrunk lower than he already was. A student, at least 6th year, looked at them with a crooked smile and a patronising gaze. "We're nearly at Hogwarts," he said, his cold voice imitating warmth. "You better get dressed." He noticed Sirius, and the crooked smile evened up. "Hello, Black."

Wrinkles had appeared around Sirius' nose. He scowled. "Hi Malfoy."

"What's Narcissa been up to this summer?"

"How should I know?" Sirius snared.

"She's _your_ cousin."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "So? She's _your_ girlfriend."

Malfoy's mouth turned into a line as he growled: "She's _not_ my girlfriend!"

"You're in 7th year and you don't have a girlfriend?" Sirius mocked.

"Isn't that a bit pathetic?" added James.

"Especially for a prefect." Sirius glared at the shiny badge. "Flaunt that at her and she's all yours."

Malfoy straightened his back. "You better learn to shut your mouth. Or someone might do it for you!"

"What're you going to do?" James laughed. "Strangle him with your ponytail?"

It was clear by the looks of Malfoy, that he had added the two to a mental list. He lifted his chin, turned around on his heels and slammed the door behind him.

"Drama queen," James mumbled.

"And your future cousin-in-law."

Peter and Remus laughed at the expressions of Sirius, as James made kiss-noises towards him. And before they knew it, they arrived at their station.

A wide group of first-year students walked like sheep towards the boats, guided by a man with a big, bushy beard. Peter kept close to Remus, who were walking quite near Sirius and James.

"A'right champs!" The man, tall as the train itself, clapped his hands, making the nearby students flinch and jump away. A grin shined through his brown, hairy face. "My name is Rubeus Hagrid – I'm the gatekeeper at Hogwarts. It's tradition for first-year students to arrive by boat – that's how ye get the best view anyways." He laughed, stepping aside to reveal a group of boats pulling themselves up on the shore. "Jump on in! Oh, eh, no, don't jump – sit, and sit still…" The kids began boarding as Hagrid kept talking, more and more to himself. "Well, that is, don't rock the boats – if they tip, the squid might getcha, she's a growin' lady, ya know!"

"Shouldn't he know more about what he's doing?" Peter wondered. Remus shrugged and helped the shorter boy into a boat, boarding himself right after.

James and Sirius found themselves neat spots in the front of a different vessel, only to discover shortly after that they'd picked the boat of the gatekeeper himself. Along with three other students, they tensed up as Hagrid sat down with them. "Well, this'll be mighty fun!" said Hagrid. "Ye get yer own personal tour guide! Lucky ye!" The boys in front glanced at each other. The boats re-entered the lake, and Hagrid began telling stories about the beasts and creatures below them. "The grindylows are mating right now, ye see." He glanced down the dark waters. "They won't come up unless ye disturb them, so don't'cha worry! We just got a squid last year, I caught it myself on my trip to the North Sea, a beauty, I tell ye, she's a tiny little blob right now, but just wait, she'll become a big girl in no time! There's also…"

James didn't listen further. He leaned towards Sirius and whispered: "Is he trying to comfort us?"

"I think he really likes them…" He snorted and pointed towards one of the other boats behind them. "At least we don't have to comfort that guy."

James looked the direction Sirius pointed, only to see Peter throw up over the side of the boat; the water wasn't even that bad. Remus tried to comfort him with gentle pats on the back, probably assuring him they'd be at the castle soon. "Poor Peter Pitygrew."

Sirius couldn't contain his laughter.

Hagrid looked at them with a huge smile. "If ye liked that story, I have one of the time we had a scaly visitor from Scotland! It wasn't a dragon, but…"

The others on the boat looked at James and Sirius with narrow eyes. The boys snickered, laughing silently between the two of them.


	2. The Sorting Hat

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"The Great Hall lived up to its name. James' eyes nearly fell out of his head by the sight of the endless rows of students, the floating candles, the ceiling, enchanted to look like the sky as his father had told him, and ghosts, hovering curiously above them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanProfessor McGonagall, a lady with a stern, formal face and greying black hair, had taken over as their temporary guardian to let Hagrid continue with his other duties. She'd informed them what was about to happen, and as they were walking two and two towards the end of the long tables, James noticed Snape and Evans a few people in front of them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe elbowed Sirius and nodded towards them. "You think Snivellus will get into Slytherin?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSirius barked. "It's Severus."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Nah," James joked./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe students spread out in front of the sorting hat, proudly presented on an old stool, as McGonagall introduced the headmaster, ready to hold his speech./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man himself, Albus Dumbledore, the source of Fleamont Potter's admiration and the eyesore of Orion Black, stood up and smiled to the newcomers. His beard reached his stomach, and his eyes were shielded by a pair of glasses. He was wearing a brightly red cloak with an orange hat, reminding Remus of a traffic cone./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Welcome," the headmaster said. "To Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I can assure you, dear children, that you can expect 7 wonderful years with friends, fun… and, as I'm sure the 7-years will tell you soon enough, homework." A few giggles buzzed between the walls. "Now, in order for the fun not to turn into endless detentions, I must stress that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden – for new students as well as old."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Let's see how long that'll last," Sirius whispered, making James cover his mouth not to laugh./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"As you in a few minutes will be sorted into your house, I will ask you to calmly walk to your tables and wait with the chatter, until em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"everyone/em has been sorted." Dumbledore held up a finger. "We don't want anyone to end up the wrong place, now would we?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith clapping spread out unevenly between the tables, Dumbledore returned to his seat. Especially the Slytherins seemed unimpressed, barely lifting their hands to acknowledge the principal./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMcGonagall cleared her throat and took a piece of parchment from the folders of her cloak. "When I call your name you will come forth, and the sorting hat will be placed on your head." The first years murmured and moved a bit around. The professor read from the list. After each person got the hat on their head, it didn't take long for it to scream out a house./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Marvin Lyre." Ravenclaw. "Ursula Fern." Hufflepuff. "Bertie Goosander." Slytherin. "Glenn Selket." Slytherin. "Lily Evans."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanEvans made her way through the crowd, clearly nervous. As she sat down on the stool, she looked at Snape, sending her a comforting smile./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Ravenclaw or Slytherin," Sirius mumbled. "Or I'll eat my…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Gryffindor/em!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Your what?" James teased as Evans walked down to the Gryffindor table in a cascade of cheers./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMarin Twigs was sorted into Hufflepuff, Vada Snowbell went to Ravenclaw, Karina Skow joined the Hufflepuffs with Maria Jensen, and Dante Gus was greeted by the Slytherins./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Severus Snape."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSirius tried to trip Snape as he walked, but the boy appeared to be a quick learner. He glared at Sirius, causing him to pay less attention to James, who made him fall down flat on his face. The whole room erupted in laughter, though McGonagall quickly made silence reign, and Snape took his place on the stool./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Slytherin/em!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe joy on his face was unlike any other seen that night. Evans was one of the only few clapping at the Gryffindor table, ignoring the wicked looks from her fellow felines, when Snape proudly pranced to his table./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Sirius Black."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe Slytherin table began whispering, some, probably related to the Black, whistled and cheered him on. Sirius looked at James with much less joy than before, only to receive a mischievous smirk. "Time to break tradition."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith the support of his new friend, Sirius made his way to the stool. The hat weighed heavier than he thought, and he immediately heard a voice: "Another Black, huh? Should we put you with the others? I'm sure you'll do great there, I see you're very determined… Hm, but there's something more…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Not Slytherin," Sirius whispered./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Oh… You don't want to go to Slytherin? How peculiar… Your cousin Lestrange begged me to go to Slytherin, although she didn't have to."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"She's a death eater now," Sirius scowled./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"What do I know? I'm just a hat. But if you're really that determined to go anywhere else than Slytherin, there's only one place a boy with your mindset could go. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Gryffindor/em!" Just like Evans, the room filled with cheers. The girl herself didn't look too happy, but James was clapping more than enough for two. A few Slytherins looked almost shocked, and grim faces soon appeared between the green ties and robes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Peter Pettigrew."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe boy nearly tripped on his way to the stool, earning laughter from his peers. His heart was pounding hard in his chest, he could barely feel his knees. McGonagall placed the hat on his head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Hm, who do we have here?" the hat asked. The young one gulped. "Hm, interesting… You seem to have potential in all of the ho-… No… Not Hufflepuff… I wouldn't put you in Ravenclaw either…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPeter looked at Sirius, being greeted with much surprise by the other students. Some gesticulated foul signs towards the Slytherins, yelling "em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"we got a Black!/em" in an almost religious hymn, making the boy blush while smiling all over his face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Oh – is that fortitude I sense? Hm, yes, you would make a fine Slytherin… Or, perhaps, Gryffindor?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Yes," Peter mumbled, his heart longing for the companionship of the lions. "Gryffindor."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I thought so… em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Gryffindor/em!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPeter let out a breath. The hat was removed, and he went to join the red and golden colours./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanFlorida Doe and Hazel Thyme was sorted into Hufflepuff, Dan Rabbot, Hamp Hawks and Greta Olive joined Ravenclaw, Aurora Twinkle and Heath Griffins joined Gryffindor, and Basil Aves, Bailey Hawks and Addie Fauns joined Slytherin./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Remus Lupus."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanRemus jumped by the sound of his name, but the kind boy had already earned the trust of those left around him. They gently pushed him forward, and with his heart in his throat, he sat down on the stool./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Dear creator," the hat exclaimed as soon as it touched his hair. "244.583 students have I sorted, give or take a few, but none have I met as courageous as you. Dear boy, I'm terribly sorry… How, may I ask, were you even allowed into the school?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanRemus took a deep breath. "Dumbledore was kind enough to take a few precautions… I'm very fortunate."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"And kind," the hat added. "And clever… Oh my, dear boy, the only place unsuited for you is Slytherin, and even then… I see you've considered turning to the dark arts? I can't blame you. Difficult, very difficult… You would make an excellent Ravenclaw, but you'd find the kindness and compassion you seek in Hufflepuff… However, it would be foolish of me to put you anywhere but Gryffindor. Sitting here, in front of them all, without showing any fear… Yes, it has been decided! em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Gryffindor/em!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe table of the lion roared. Remus could barely feel his legs while walking down to join them. Peter jumped up, overjoyed, and dragged Remus to sit with him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"James Potter."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJames walked up to the stool, proud as his father had taught him, and sat down with a straight back. The hat laughed as it fell in place on his head. "Another Potter, huh? I see you've already made up your mind. Assuming you can keep your mischief in check, you most certainly go to em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Gryffindor/em!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJames went to join his new friends at the table. The last people were sorted, and a marvellous feast appeared in front of them: Smoked turkey, towers of ice cream, grilled potatoes, roasted port, soups of a million kinds, and chocolate cakes the size of barrels. The older students laughed as the eyes of the freshly sorted first years widened to double size./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSirius, seated in front of James, leaned forward. "Looks like we're stuck with each other, Potter."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Seems so, Black."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Tell me, how are you with hexes?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"My mother banned me from doing them when I turned her flowers into windmills." James winked. "Obviously, that means I'm splendid!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSirius laughed and raised a glass, freshly filled with butterbeer. "To the mischievous!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"To the marauders!"/span/p 


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